Week of 5th August: Inua Ellams Black T shirt Collection, Numbi’s Afropolitan Dance Party Ghana Music Awards, , The Epic Adventure of Nhamo the Manyika Warrior and his sexy wife Chipo, Zimfest

Greetings and salutations,

Well after this weekend’s frenetic hyper activity, things slow down to a more sedate pace but we still have
sufficient goodness to keep you busy as Summer settles down, takes its shoes off and makes itself comfortable.

The Africa Centre Summer Festival was our highlight event of the weekend (with so many worthy ones to pick from). This free event in Covent Garden saw African music and culture on display in lovely (and windy!) August sunshine, Proud to be African Clothing’s stall was well patronised as ever and it was good to catch up with familiar faces. The acts were sublime from Wale Ojo (actor/ singer/ afrobeat musician!) and the Kalakuta Express, Bumi Thomas, our good friend Afrikan Boy, Kasai Masai, Tunde Jegede performing the Griots Tale and then DJ Edu shaking the place with serious Afrobeat, I’m sure I saw a few policemen trying to Azonto!

The show closed with Nigerian superstar Nneka, performing in her usual inimitable style. No booty shaking or flashy stage tricks, just raw lyrics and sublime music, with tracks from her latest album Soul is Heavy, ending with Heartbeat.

An excellent event, kudos to the organisers, performers and all the young volunteers who were enthusiastic, hard working and friendly to the end.

This week South African politics, gender and otherwise will be discussed at Chatham house and Standard Bank respectively, our good friend Inua Ellams Black T shirt party returns in preparation for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Inspirational YOU will be holding a Summer Mobile App Design Course, all the Zimmies, Zimmers, Zimbos and Zimbettes will be heading to Zimfest,

Ghana Music Awards hits the indigO2, Numbi will be holding an Afropolitan Dance Party and there will be a Dessert Night in aid of Ugandan orphans

African arts and theatre keeps going strong with Tiata Fahodzi’s The Epic Adventure of Nhamo the Manyika Warrior and his sexy wife Chipo at the Tricycle Theatre and Aime Cesaire’s A Season in Congo starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and the week starting with South African pianist Tessa Uys playing Schubert.

Have a groovy week!

Monday 5^th August

From 1.00pm to 2.00pm South African pianist Tessa Uys will be performing a solo recital of Schubert andSt Lawrence Jewry, Guildhall Yard, Gresham Street, EC2V 5AA. This is a FREE event

Britten at

Tuesday 6^th August

At 5.30pm Chatham House hosts South Africa and the ANC Youth League: New Structures, New Strategies? at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, 10 St James Square, SW1Y 4LE. Mzwandile Masina (Convener, ANC Youth League), will discuss the task of rebuilding and restructuring the Youth League as the South African 2014 elections draw closer and the generation born after the end of apartheid prepares to vote for the first time. To attend this FREE event contact Chris Vandome. 

At 7.00pm Inspirational YOU presents Summer mobile App Design Course at The Stephen Lawrence Centre, 9 Brookmill Road, Deptford, SE8 4HU, which weill teach you the basics of mobile application development, with the 5D process Discover, Define, Design, Develop, Deploy. Book this FREE course here. 

At 7.00pm is the Mothership Connections Black Book Club in Room G2, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0XG. This is for African and Caribbean people with an interest in sci fi and other speculative fiction, the book for this meeting is Octavia Butlers Wildseed

Wednesday 7^th August

At 7.30pm Tiata Fahodzi presents The Epic Adventure of Nhamo the Manyika Warrior and his sexy wife Chipo at the Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, NW6 7JR. This Zimbabwean comedy of epic epicness involves creating the ultimate African fable in 24hours unfortunately the hero is missing from the superstar cast; the sudden appearance of a goatherd on the horizon could be the saviour. Could he be the one.....? Running till 17^th August written by Denton Chikura and directed by Lucian Msamati, tickets start from £14.00 from here.

Thursday 8^th August

From 7.00pm to 11.00pm is the Abstrakt Artists Launch Event at The Jazz Cafe, 5 Parkway, Camden Town, NW1 7PG, with live performances by RU1 Fam, Afrikan Revolution, Logic (People’s Army), The Thirst and Kwake Bass with special guest appearances by Stephanie Santiago, Cloudy Room, RXD and Drama Jemm. Admission is £10.00 in advance from here and £12.00 before 8.00pm. 

Friday 9^th August

At 6.30pm the SA Chamber of Commerce presents Addressing the Gender balance agenda and its impact on the Global Economy at Standard Bank, 20 Gresham Street, EC2V 7JE. Chaired by Debbie Thomas (Deloitte LLP), the panellists Frances Mensah Williams (connect Africa), Pamela Nomyete (South African actress, writer, producer), Jenny Knott (Standard Bank) and Lisa MacLeod (FT.com) will be discussing the issue of gender balance and the need for sponsorship, mentoring, networking to enable women move into positions of leadership. Tickets are £20.00 (£10.00 for members) from here. 

At 8.00pm Numbi Arts presents the Afropolitan Dance Party at 5 Cavendish Square, Oxford Circus, W1G 0PG. This pre launch, pre carnival , Eid party will feature The Sun Dunes playing an acoustic set, poetry from Nat Nye accompanied by Le Rouge et Le Noir David harries and cellist Mayda Narvey. Followed by a trio of DJ’s playing music from the 50’s and 60’s, garage, RnB, soul, ska and more. Tickets are £15.00 from here. 

At 8.00pm Fuel presents Inua Ellams Black T Shirt Collection at the BAC, Lavender Hill, Battersea, SW11 5TN. This modern fable uses animation and spoken word to tell the story of 2 brothers’ journey through the markets of Nigeria, sweatshops of China and nightclubs of Europe top build a global T shirt brand. As their business grows they can’t evade their secrets. Tickets are £12.00 (£8.00 concs) from here. 

At 9.00pm is the Ghana Music Awards 2013 at the indigO2, Millennium Way, Peninsula Square, SE10 0AX. Live on stage will be Sarkodie, Jojo Antwi, Fuse ODG, Pat Thomas, Efya, Onyeame Kwame and more. Tickets start from £20.00 here. 

Saturday 10^th August

From 11.00am to 5.00pm the BFI African Odyssey Programme presents the I Love Carnival Screening 2013 at BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, SE1 8XT exploring the art, history, culture and politics of the Caribbean Carnival in London and Trinidad with screenings and previews of new works, live performance and discussions. Hosted by Michael La Rose (Savannah View) with special guest Horace Ove. Tickets are £7.50 from here.

From 12.00pm to 11.00pm is Zimfest London 2013 at Boston Manor Park, Boston Manor Road,
Hounslow, TW8 9JX. Featuring Blue King Brown (Australia), Thabo and the Real Deal (Zimbabwe/ UK), Tahuna Breaks (New Zealand), Desmond and the Tutus (South Africa), What Now (South Africa, Glen Aitken, Ngata Ranana, Bowie Jane, Munkinpurfe, Aaron Manatsa and the New Green Arrows, This Flight Tonight, Mocga Fooga, Jakob Deist, Abby Holden, Tafi Mushuku, Steve Gander, Ny Oh, Samantha Blackburn (South Africa/ UK), Musiq Ave (Zimbabwe/ UK), Mister Cee, Swift Tee, Dave Smallwood, DJ Mujay and Damian Tommy. Tickets are from £30.00 here.  

From 5.00pm to 10.00pm is Passion for Motherland at Amnesty International, 17-25 New Inn Yard, EC2A 3EA. This event will bring together like minded individuals in fashion, music and poetry to celebrate and network. Tickets are £7.00 from here and all the funds go to the charity ‘Save The Congo’

At 6.00pm is Signature S.O’s Dessert Night at EPC, 378 Lee High Road, SE12 8RS. This charity night seeks to raise funds for a Charity trip to Uganda and will feature live jazzz, performances, comedy and off course exotic and delicious desserts, which pay tribute to the organisers Ugandan heritage. Tickets are £8.00 from here

At 9.30pm is the Jamaica Independence Dance at Cottons, 70 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QP. Hosted by Crazy T, featuring the Reminisce Reggae Band, a Bob Marley Tribute as well as DJ Old School T, Audrey Scott and Nairobi. Tickets are £6.00 in advance and £10.00 on the door. More information here.  

Sunday 11^th August

At 7.30pm Olivier Award Winning actor Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in A Season In the Congo at the Young Vic, 66 The Cut, Waterloo, SE1 8LZ. This fascinating drama by Aime Cesaire, directed by Joe Wright and choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui charts the rise and fall of the pioneer Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba and his passionate determination to free his people from Belgian rule. Filled with brilliant performances, dance and music as well it runs till 14^th August. Tickets start from £10.00 here. 

At 7.00pm the Igbo Culture and Support Network General House Meeting takes place at Claremont Project Islington, 24-27 White Lion Street, N1 9PD. This meetings theme is Health, with a selection of clinicians and health professionals coming to talk about the importance of good health and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. More details here

Rains and Plays.....its MAY!!!!

Rain, rain go away!!

Maybe I spoke to soon in my last post!

I’m thinking that I might need to start a line of Proud to be African wellington boots and rain coats in addition to the hoodys and T shirts with the way this rain is falling! I didn’t know the UK had a rainy season as well!

Despite the ever so soggy weather there has been a veritable array of sunshiney events lined up for you good people.

Africa 2.0 UK launch panel

I attended the Africa 2.0 UK launch at the Pearson Centre, London, last week which was a fascinating event hosted by Henry Bonsu of Colourful Radio., with a stellar panel featuring Dr Mo Ibrahim the telecoms entrepreneur of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation  fame. Africa 2.0 is a pan African global initiative, seeking to formulate a new leapfrog-based approach to development in Africa built upon collective knowledge and the experiences of a broad spectrum of Africans back home and in the diaspora. There was a panel discussion with Dr. Ibrahim, Dr. Shiyghan Navti (IBM Software Group) , Amina Adewusi (Standard Chartered Group) and Hephzi Tagoe (Founder of MiS-UK) chaired the by Henry Bonsu

A wonderfully refreshing event with lots of home truths from Dr Ibrahim that chime which PTBA’s themes of self reliance, enterprise and the importance of telling ones own story. Africa 2.0 is a relatively new group in the UK and we hope to be working with them more in future.

The  'The African Or Black Question (TAOBQ)'  Campaign championed by Kwaku of BBM/BBC held a workshop on ‘What does it mean to be a Global African? ’ on the 28^th as a prelude to a series of events coming up later this month

On Monday the 30^th of April, AFFORD another great diaspora organisation held a day long event on Impact funding through the diaspora at the Brunei Gallery at the School of Oriental and African Studies, again featuring a wide array of subject matter experts in the field of enterprise, development and diaspora engagement.

Upcoming Events

Coming up though there is a wide array of events for you lucky lucky people:

On Wednesday 2^nd May at 7pm the London Black Business Incubator and Investment Group will be meeting at the 5^th level of the Royal Festival Hall at the South Bank Centre for their inaugural meeting.

On 4^th May Proud to be African favourite El Crisis will be holding the monthly Word, Power and Sound event at Centreprise Bookshop and Cafe, 136 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, E8 2NS

This new monthly event of Words delivered with Power that carry rhythmic Sound vibrations. El Crisis will have as special guests Native sun, Aamasade, Lionheart, ShakaRa, Leafy Bee, Taniya Sonko, Shadow and 9 Drummer. Tickets are £6.00 in advance and £8.00 on the door.

                             

 On 5^th May there will be the Pan African Conference Oxford 

at 9.00am at Wesley Memorial Church Hall, New Inn Hall Street, OX1 2DH, Oxford. The theme is ‘Building Capacity for a New Generation: The Case for Youth Leadership in Africa’ with a stellar line up of speakers such as Vera Songwe (World Bank Country Director for The Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, and Mauritania), Sanusi Lamido Aminu Sanusi (Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria), He Liehui (Managing director of Touchroad International Holdings Group), June Arunga Kimani (CEO of Open Quest Media LLC and a founding partner of Black Star Line SA), Matthew Kukah (Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese in Nigeria and a former Secretary-General of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria), Arthur G. O. Mutambara (Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe), Gbenga Sesan ( Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria), Patrick G. Awuah Jnr ( Founder and President of Ashesi University College) and many others

On the 6^th May Natural November will be at Chelsea Old Town Hall Bar, SW3 between 11am and 7pm. Now the fact that the event is called Natural November but is holding in May should not confuse you, this is the second install of the very successful event that held at the Africa Centre last November. Debrose the organiser has decided that there should be a summer version and thus we are having the May incarnation, this event will see Toyin Agbetu, BBC Radio's Valley Fontaine and  Winsome 'Lyrical Healer' Duncan and from the US Ansylla of My Hairitage .Tickets from £12.50 each or two for £20 in advance, £15 on the door, £10 after 3pm. The first 100 purchased online will receive a VIP goody bag on arrival.

I am still trying to persuade her to have meat based products but I think I’m fighting a losing battle!!!

Also on Sunday 6th May Focus Organisation will be partying with Future Groove, kicking off the bank holiday at The Luxe, Old Spitalfields Market, 109 Commercial Street, E1 6BG from 7pm-Midnight, for your £5 entry you get soul Jazz Funk band Future Groove and DJs Bogossy & Oya Bun playing Afrobeat, Coupe Decale, Kurduro, Kwaito, Naija Beat, Highlife and Azonto

Tis also the season for plays by Nigerian playwrights, Bola Agbaje’s Belong is playing to sold out crowds each night (I know this as my usual last minute dot com attempts to get tickets were futile!) from 26^th April to 26^th May at Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS.

Bola Agbaje’s satirical new play is a co production with Tiata Fahodzi  and questions our notion of home about a failed British Nigerian MP who flees back to Nigeria and gets tangled up in escapades back home.

It’s all fascinating and I promise to review it soon as I get to see it! This is Bola Agbaje’s 3^rd incarnation at the Royal Court her first Gone Too Far (2007) was followed by Off the Endz (2010). Her debut play won an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement and was also nominated for Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Awards. She is currently working with UK production company Poisson Rouge and the UK Film Council to turn the play into a feature film. She is also a proud owner of a Proud to be African hoody so she is obviously not just talented and beautiful but of impeccable taste!
As an additional treat there is an additional run at The Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, London SE15 4ST from 31st May to 26th June

Ade Solanke’s play ‘Pandora’s Box’ opens on 9^th May and runs till the 26^thof May,  at the Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8 3DL  Dalston. Ola Animashawun directs this potent new play, which is billed as a lively and compelling examination of loyalty, love and betrayal. Again another play examining the themes of being Born in the UK but Made in Africa with a mother struggling to decide whether to leave her streetwise London child at a strict Lagos boarding school or take him back to the mean streets of inner London

Next time we meet I hope to have some reviews of the plays and reports from some of the events

May we meet in sunnier times!!!